Hon Hai Technology Group (Foxconn), the world’s largest technology manufacturer and service provider, and Lordstown Motors Corp. (“Lordstown Motors” or “LMC”), an OEM of electric light-duty trucks focused on the commercial fleet market, have announced recently the signing of a contract manufacturing agreement and a joint venture agreement for product development.
As previously disclosed on Nov 11, 2021, Hon Hai and Lordstown entered into an Asset Purchase Agreement (APA) regarding LMC’s production plant in Lordstown, Ohio. The transaction and asset transfer were in progress and was approved by regulatory authorities. On May 12, 2022, Hon Hai announced the completion of the facility purchase. In the future, Ohio will be Hon Hai’s important electric vehicle manufacturing hub in North America.
After the facility transfer completion, there will be approximately four hundred skilled and talented LMC employees that will transition to employment with Hon Hai. By collaborating with different automotive OEMs, Hon Hai will offer its employees in North America exciting and challenging opportunities to develop their career paths in the field of electric vehicles.
The signed contract manufacturing agreement and joint venture agreement for product development is a key milestone for Hon Hai. Hon Hai invests $55 million in the new joint venture and holds 55% of shares. According to the joint venture agreement, Hon Hai and Lordstown will use the Mobility in Harmony (MIH) Open EV Platform to co-design and develop vehicle programs for the global commercial vehicle market. By sharing expertise and integrating resources, the two parties will be able to help the OEMs in the supply chain to effectively and efficiently reduce Time to Market and Time to Cost, achieving the benefits of scale.
With its expertise in hardware software integration and production management of electronics manufacturing, Hon Hai will leverage Lordstown team’s automaking experience and bring the electric pickup truck “Endurance” into mass production. The collaboration between Hon Hai and Lordstown is a classic example of joint effort between startup electronic vehicle manufacturer and information & communications service provider.
